Hat protecting device



1366- 1952' J. G. REINHARD HAT PROTECTING DEVICE Filed June 4, 1949 7 an, am :2 mmSzmw 3 @012 com 6% [7222a 7260 7" Jokrz 6R6 z'nkwra? 5% @141 Patented Dec. 9, i952 UNITED I STATES PATENT OFFICE; j

HAT PROTECTING DEVICE John G. Reinhard, 'Streator, Ill.

Applieationilunei, 1949,.Seria'l No. 97,119

5 Claims. 1

This invention .relates to a protective device for preventing the accidental taking of a hat. It

has for one object to provide a simple device which may be readily inserted in a hat without any alteration of the structure of the hat.

Another object is to provide a device of the sort indicated which will provide an immediate and unavoidable indication fora wearer that he has taken the wrong hat.

Other objects will appear from time to time throughout the specification and claims.

My invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings. wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of the underside of a hat with the device inserted and occupying the inactive position.

Figure 2 is a view generally similar to Figure 1 and illustrating the device in the active po- :s'ition.

' Figure 13 is a side elevation on an enlarged :scale illustrating the device in the-active position.

Figure '4 is a sectional detail on the further enlarged scale taken at line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of another form of the invention and illustrating the device in the active position.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specification and claims.

I indicates generally a hat which may have a brim 2 and is provided with a conventional sweat band 3. As such bands are usually arranged they are secured to the hat about the lower edge as at 4, and are free from the hat upwardly. A space is thereby formed between the sweat band and the hat into which an article may readily be inserted.

The device in the particular form here shown comprises a base or support 5 which is slotted at 6 to provide a guide and retaining part for a member I which passes slidingly through the slot 6. This sliding member I has preferably attached to it guide members 8 and 9, the member 8 being visible in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The guide members 8 and 9 form a guide and perform their retaining or guiding function by being thus positioned on the sliding member 1 and by being also positioned one on either side of the slotted support 5. A display member or tape it) is secured to the sliding member 1 and the guide member 9 and is normally positioned on the rear face of the base 5 and between the base 5 and the inside surface of a hat within which the device may be mounted as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The member 5 is slotted as at H and this slot is angularly disposed with respect to the slot 6 as shown in detail in Figure 3. The tape passes through theslot H and when pulled outwardly to bring the slide member 1 to dimensions'o-f the tape form no iessential part of the invention, and these details may be substantially varied Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Obviously the device might be embodied in a hat as originally constructed. In that case the slots 6 and l l instead of being formed'in a separate member -5 would be formed in the sweat band 3 of the hat itself as shown in Figured Where the device is made up as shown in'Fig-ures 1, 2 and 3, advertising or identifying material, not shown might be applied to the member 5. As shown, the name of the owner may be applied to the tape l0 and of course, other indicia such as advertising, may also be applied to the tape.

Although the member ID may be a flexible tape it might be formed of other material-it may be formed of plastic, of woven fabric, or of any other desired materialas the member I. is shaped to be moved out of view, as shown in Figure 1, and to be moved to extend, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, it is within the contemplation of the present invention. If the slit is formed directly in the sweat band that member then becomes the support and serves for that purpose in the same manner as the card or support 5 serves where the device is separable from the hat and not formed as a part of the sweat band.

The use and operation of this invention are as follows:

The device in the form shown when it is to be used is inserted in a hat in a'position to lie between the sweat band and the crown portion of the hat, and it may remain there indefinitely. When the hat is being worn the member 1 is moved to the position of Figure 1 and the ribbon is retracted. When it is to be used as a warning device the ribbon is pulled out to hang downwardly in the position shown in Figures 2 and 3. If the hat is then hung on a hook the ribbon hangs downwardly. If, thereafter, the wrong person accidentally picks up the hat and puts it .on, the ribbon hanging down around his face will at once attract his attention and will thus cause him to realize that he has put on the wrong hat.

Although I have shown an operative form of my invention, it will be recognized that many changes in the form, shape and arrangement of parts can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and my showing is therefore to be taken as, in a sense, diagrammatic.

I claim:

1. A hat protecting device comprising a support member adapted to be placed within the crown of a hat behind the sweat band thereof and including a part which, when the device is so positioned within a hat, extends above the upper free edge of the sweat band, slotted guide means on that part of the support which when the device is so mounted, extends above the sweat band, said slotted guide means including an elongated first slot and a second slot extending transversely of said first slot at one end thereof, a display member movably carried by said support member and extending slidably through said second slot, and a guide member slidably mounted in said first slot and secured to one end of said display member, said display member being movable through said second slot from a generally concealed position behind said support when said guide member is at the end of said first slot remote from the second slot, to a display position beyond the second slot and in front of said support in which position the guide 'member lies at that end of the first slot which is adjacent to the second slot.

2. The construction described in claim 1 wherein said first slot is positioned on said support member so as to lie generally parallel to the upper edge of the sweat band when the device is so mounted in a hat, and wherein the display member is flexible and is thus adapted to hang down over the sweat band of the hat in which the device is mounted, when the display member is moved to said display position.

3. The device described in claim 1 wherein the second slot is spaced from the first slot in generally horizontal alignment therewith whereby when th display member is in said concealed position, it lies behind the support member in general alignment with the first slot.

4. In combination with a hat including a crown and a sweat band, hat protecting means comprising slotted guide means carried by the sweat band, and including an elongated first slot disposed generally circumferentially of said sweat band, and a second slot spaced from one end of said first slot and disposed transversely thereof, a display member movably carried by the sweat band and extending slidably through said second slot so that one end thereof lies behind the sweat band, and a guide member slidably mounted in the first slot and secured to that end of the display member which lies behind the sweat band, said display member being movable through said second slot from a concealed position behind said sweat band to a display position in front of the sweat band while the guide member moves from the end of the first slot which is remote from said second slot to that end of the first slot which is adjacent said second slotv 5. The combination described in claim 4 wherein the display member is flexible and thus adapted to hang down over the sweat band when in said display position.

JOHN G. REINHARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

V UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

